Authors: Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith
Publisher: Middleton Press
ISBN: 9781906008864
Price: Approximately £17.00 to £19.00 depending on retailer.
Publication Date: 1st October 2010
Number of pages: 96
Format: Hardback
How Obtained: Purchased
Making the journey from Pontypridd to Port Talbot during the first half of the twentieth century involved travelling on the metals of two railways, the Taff Vale and the Rhondda and Swansea Bay. Doing so meant passing innumerable coal mines and diving through the impressive Rhondda Tunnel, which bored through the stark mountain dividing the Rhondda Fach and Afan valleys!
This complex and fascinating line is the subject of Mitchell and Smith’s Pontypridd to Port Talbot (Including the Maerdy Branch). The Middleton Press published the book in October 2010 in their Welsh Valleys series. At this time time it is out of print, but new copies can still be picked up from remaining stock.
Pontypridd to Port Talbot….from the Rhondda to the Afan!
In common with other Welsh railway books by Mitchell and Smith, the volume starts by providing a background geographical setting. Next is a brief history of the line, which includes a gradient profile. Starkly highlighted is the challenging climb to the Rhondda Tunnel summit between Blaenrhondda and Blaengwynfi. The remaining railways of the Afan area are outlined before an overview of passenger services is presented.
Following the usual format of other Middleton publications, the heart of the book features sites and locations of interest starting from Pontypridd. These include the many colliery connections, along with the branch from Porth up the Rhondda Fach valley which terminates at Maerdy.
Along with photographs, each location is placed in context using large-scale OS maps from the early 20th Century. Although most of the 120 black and white photographs in the book cover the line when it was operated by the GWR and British Railways, there are some from the late Taff Vale Railway era in the 1920s.
Another tale of fierce railway rivalry for the great prize of black gold!
The Rhondda Tunnel was a marvel of engineering! Specifically, it was built by the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway for the usual reason of challenging an existing railway (in this case the Taff Vale) for a share of the lucrative coal export market. The pictures in the book show the railway as an almost insignificant line dwarfed beneath the hulking mass of the mountain.
The maps and photographs show why the R&SBR were prepared to make the investment in the tunnel as there is barely a map or group of photographs which do not depict a colliery or coal train. Moreover, the stats are telling with 9.1 million tons of coal being raised in the two Rhondda valleys in 1914!
The book is well thought out with the maps and photographs being closely integrated, thus enabling the reader to clearly understand the location. I found this added to my enjoyment of the book by being able to find landmarks in the images not included in the annotation. The alphabetic arrangement of the Table of Contents was handy in that it doubled as an index!
In Summary
An engrossing volume which has been carefully constructed to provide a huge amount of information in an accessible manner. Beyond railway enthusiasts, local historians and anyone interested in our industrial past will appreciate this book.
The Good
- Well structured book allows the reader to get the most out of the photographs by referencing well selected OS maps
- Good photograph annotations present interesting facts in an accessible manner
- Straightforward and engaging writing
The Not So Good
- You will need to buy the Cardiff to Swansea book for further images of Port Talbot
- There are some lower quality photographs and none in colour, apart from the back cover.
Outline Contents
- Pontypridd
- Pontypridd Maritime Colliery Sidings
- Gyfeillon
- Trehafod
- Lewis Merthyr Colliery
- Porth
- Ynyshir
- Wattstown Platform
- Pontygwaith Platform
- Tylorstown
- Ferndale
- Ferndale Engine Shed
- Maerdy
- Dinas Rhondda
- Tonypandy & Trealaw
- Pwllyrhebog Branch
- Llwynypia
- Ystrad Rhondda
- Ton Pentre
- Treorchy
- Ynyswen
- Treherbert
- Blaenrhondda
- Rhondda Tunnel
- Blaengwynfi
- Cymmerafan
- Duffryn Rhondda Halt
- Cynonville Halt
- Pontrhydyfen
- Cwmavon (Glam)
- Aberavon Town
- Aberavon Seaside
- Port Talbot General
About the Authors Vic Mitchell (1934-2021) and Keith Smith
In 1978, Vic Mitchell published his first railway item, a route map of the London and South Western Railway. Thus Middleton Press was born, taking its name from his home at Middleton Lodge, Midhurst, West Sussex. In 1980, Mitchell was involved in a fundraiser for St. Mary Magdalene and St. Denis Church, Midhurst. An exhibition was held to mark the 25th anniversary of the closure to passengers of the Petersfield–Midhurst–Pulborough railway.
One of the exhibitors was Keith Smith. Mitchell got into conversation with him and it was felt that there might be demand for a book on the railways in the area. Three publishers were approached but all rejected the idea. Mitchell spent £5,000 and published the book himself in 1981. Titled Branch Lines to Midhurst, it sold well and Mitchell recovered his investment. Initially, there was no intention to publish more titles, but Branch Lines to Horsham was published in 1982 and other books followed. By June 2018, Middleton Press had published 617 titles. Subjects covered include British railways, tram and trolleybus systems, as well as railways abroad.
(From Wikipedia)
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